Doorstrip



A. L. SMITH ET AL Apr. 10, 1923;

DOORSTRIP Filed Sent. 1, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet l Y w w l? m g w i JQN w h. @mmmu V mm $w m n m 1 @lki m w m Apr, 10, 1923.

- 1,451,310 A. L. SMITH ET AL DYO-ORSTRIRI Filed Sent. 1. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v WITNESS I l'wvsnr'aras ip M A. -C

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Patented Apr. 10, 1923.

UNITED ADAM L. SMITH AND THOMAS E. RUSSELL, OF YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO.

DOORSTRIP.

Application filed September 1, 1921. Serial No. 497,592.

'1 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ADAM L. SMITH and THOMAS F. RUssELL, citizens of the United States, and residing in the city of Youngstown, in the county of Mahoning and State of Ohio, have invented or discovered new,

useful, and Improved Doorstrips, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention consists in a new and improved automatic door strip for closing the crack or space between the bottom of the door and the sill plate or floor. I

Where the bottom of a door is provided with a fixed strip, the latter, if snug enough to close the crack whenthe door is closed,

usually interferes with the opening and clos-i ing of the door by dragging or scraping over the floor or floor covering. Thus, in

the case of hard wood or finished floors, a

rug cannot be kept in place near the door because it will be shoved away or disarranged when the door is opened and closed.

The object which we have in view is the provision of an improved door strip which will effectively pack the crack or opening under the closed door,"but will in nowise interfere with the convenient opening and closing of the door.

For this purpose, we provide a door strip member which is mounted on the door in such a manner as to be capable of vertical movement, and means whereby when the door is closed the strip is depressed into packing engagement with the door-sill butwhen the door moves out of its closed position the strip is elevated so as to clear the floor or floor covering.

In the accompanying drawings, which are however merely intended to illustrate the principles of our invention wlthout limiting the scope of the latter to the construction shown, Fig. :1 is a view in elevation of'the lower portion of a closed door fitted with a door strip embodying the principles of our while the other side shows the door open, the strip being thus shown both in its depressed and elevated positions in the one figure; Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI in Fig. 5, while Fig. 7 is a similar view taken along the line VIIVII in Fig. 5

The following is a detailed description of the drawings, reference being first had to the first four figures of the same.

A. represents a door hinged in the usual manner, as at 1, to the vertical edge of the door frame B. C represents the door sill which forms the threshold of the doorway.

2- is a metal face plate attached to the face of the door at its bottom and on the side toward which the door opens. 3 represents two or more guide brackets secured at their upper ends to the face plate 2 and bent to extend down in front of the door and spaced therefrom. D represents the door strip member, which may be either a wooden board or a metal plate and whichis mounted for vertical movement between the guides 3 and the plate2. The bottom of the door strip is slotted to receive the packing strip 4, which may be of felt, rubber or other suitable compressible material to make a snug, compressed contact with the sill C when the door is closed, and thus exclude the air from passing under the door.

'5 represents two or more slots or recesses cut down through the top edge of the door strip to provide clearance for the horizontal heads of the bracket members 6 which are attached to the plate 2. 7 represents small metal plates attached tothe top edge of the door strip D and thus closing the upper ends of the recesses'fi. heads 6 and the plates 7 are pierced with alined holes through which extend the bolts 8, and 9 represents helical springs coiled about said bolts, their upper ends bearing on the plates 7 while their lower ends bear on the heads of brackets 6. The springs thus tend to elevate the door strip D into the position shown in Fig. 3. E represents a shaft horizontally journaled on the face of the plate 2 by means of j bracket bearings 10 above the strip D, said strip being notched, as at 11, to provide clearance for its free movement. 12 represents two or more toe-bars fixed radially on the shaft E and provided with eccentrically disposed arcuate contact surfaces which engage the top edge of the strip D and act to The bracket 9 shaft andprovided at its free end with a j roller 15' which is adapted to come into contact with the door frame as the door reaches its closed position. The relative angles of 'the toe-bars 12 and the lever l are such that, when the door strip D s raised by the springs 9, the lever 14: is inclined in the position shown in so that the roller 15 will come intocontact with the door fraine Just before the door reaches l'tS'ClOSBCl position.

The result is that as the door closes the lever 14 is forced upwardiy'toward a vertical position, thus forcing down the toe-bars l2 and depressing the door stripfroin the position indicated in Fig. 3, wherein it is elevated, into the position shown in Figs. 1,

'2 and 4, wherein the st 'ip is depressed to efficiently seal the crack over the door sill.

In Figs. 5 to 7, inclusive, we have substituted for the wedging action of the toe-bars 12, a spur gear and rack connection between the shaft E and the door strip D. Thus we mounted on the shaft Etwo or more spur gears 1.6 which mesh with vertically disposed rack bars 17 extending upwardly from the door strip. When the shaft E is rocked by the closing of the door, the spur gears in turning cause the strip to be depressed into its operative) position.

In eitherforrn of the device, when the door moves out of' its closed position, the springs 9rause the door strip to be automatically elevated into its elevated position, as shown inFig s. 3 and 7, and at the right hand side of Fig. 5.

Vi e have shown two convenient in ethods'of automatically depressing the st'ip as the door closes, but other convenient meanswill suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. and we therefore do not wish to confine ourselves to the exact construction shown.

Vi e prefer to provides cover'plate F which is attached to the'lowerportion of the door and extends down over the shaft E and the door strip D, and thus conceals and pro-. tects from-dirt and dust-the operative parts.

It is evident from the foregoing that our invention provides an efiioient, automatic door strip which will effectively block the entrance ofair'beneath the closed door but in all other positions of the door will provide for theproper clearance for the'fio'or or floor coverings. I Y i Although, forthe "salreof clearly illustrating therprinciples of our invention, we

have minutely described the embodimentof the saine shown in the drawings, wedo not "wish to liniit ourselves thereby, but' 'cla irn broadly 1. In cornbinationwith a door franie and r a doorhingedthe'reto to s'wingon a vertical "203155,?1. door strip mounted on the lower portion of said 'do or and slidable vertically-in 'i'elation to' the latterpthe-saidstrip being ,p'rovided'wi t-h vertically elongated openings,

pierced brackets fixed: to said door andextendingrinto said-openings, bolts extending through said brackets and the top walls" of said openings in said strip, and helical springs coil'ed aboutsaid bolts between said brackets and the top walls of said openings whereby said door strip is normallyheld'elevated out of contact"'withtheffloorfland ineans-actuate'd'by the closing of the "door and adapted to depress said'doorstripi'nto contact with the doors'ill.

2. In combination with a door f'ranie'a-nd a door hinged thereto to swin 'on a vertical axis, a cover plate hav'ingan inwardly extending top portion=attached' tothe door and the vertically disposed body of" said plate depending: parallel to'and spaced from said door,a door 'stripunounted between said cover plateand said door and slidable vertically, resllient'nieans for holding sard'str p elevated out'of 'contactwith the'fioor, 'a' rock shaft horizontally journaled in'parallelism. with the door and inclosed by=said'cov'er plate, "means whereby "said shaft is rotated I when saiddoor' is closed, andmea'ns' whereby such rotation of said shaft depresses said 'door' strip for the purpose described.

Signe'dat "Youngstown, Ohio, this 19' day of August, 1921.

, ADAM LpSMITH...

THOMAS r. RUSSELL. 

